The company proposing the high speed rail between Houston and Dallas has claimed a a win in the latest court battle for eminent domain.
That comes after the Texas Supreme Court denied a request from Leon County landowners to review the Texas Court of Appeals overturning a Leon County district court decision.
The court of appeals ruled Texas Central qualifies as an entity entitled to use survey and eminent domain authority under the Texas Transportation Code.
Texans Against High Speed Rail sent a response on Facebook, which says they will file a motion to rehear the appeal.
The full statement from TAHSR board member Christie parker said “While the Supreme Court has failed to protect property rights across Texas from corporate and foreign interests, I am confident that we will be successful with our mission of stopping this wasteful and intrusive project on our lands. This battle was never intended to be fought in just one arena. We will continue to fight this battle on many fronts including the Supreme Court, federal courts ensuring that environmental issues are addressed and rectified, the Texas legislature with tightening property and taxpayer protections, and working in D.C. to prevent any funding from reaching this ill conceived project. This fight is far from over, and we must all work together to see this through to the end…with this project being stopped.”
Texas Central’s press release, on the other hand, said “the denial of review should put to an end to over five years of contentious litigation and clear the path for Texas Central to bring the high-speed train to Texas.”